Engine control device and engine control method

ABSTRACT

An engine control device controls a cylinder direct fuel injection type spark ignition engine provided with a fuel injection valve configured to directly inject fuel to a cylinder and an ignition plug configured to perform spark ignition for a gas mixture inside the cylinder. In a case where it is necessary to warm up an exhaust gas purifying catalyst disposed in an exhaust passage, the engine control device executes a catalyst warm-up operation in which a fuel is injected at a timing during the compression stroke, and at a timing when the fuel spray colliding with the piston crown surface moves toward the ignition plug along the shape of the piston crown surface, and in which the ignition timing is after compression top dead center. The engine control device advances the fuel injection timing in accordance with an increase in an estimation amount of a liquid fuel remaining on the top surface of the piston during execution of the catalyst warm-up operation.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an engine control device and an enginecontrol method for controlling a cylinder direct fuel injection typespark ignition engine.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, an exhaust passage of an engine has a catalyst device forpurifying an exhaust gas. The catalyst supported by the catalyst devicefails to provide an excellent catalyst performance at a temperaturelower than an activation temperature. Therefore, it is necessary toperform a warm-up operation for increasing a temperature of the catalystto the activation temperature within a short time, at the time of enginestart. JP2011-220210A discloses a warm-up operation for increasing thetemperature of the catalyst in which the exhaust gas is heated byretarding an ignition timing. In addition, in the warm-up operationdisclosed in the aforementioned document, in order to secure a goodignitability even by retarding the ignition timing, so-called stratifiedcharge combustion is performed, in which spark ignition is generatedwhile a fuel spray is concentrated in the vicinity of an ignition plug.

However, in the warm-up operation disclosed in the aforementioneddocument, if a heater is turned on even when a condition for performingthe warm-up operation of the catalyst is established, homogeneousstoichiometric combustion is performed by retarding the ignition timing.Although such a warm-up operation is effective to secure a heatingperformance, it is not satisfactory for emission reduction. Inparticular, in the aforementioned document, there is no considerationfor a liquid fuel amount adhered to a piston crown surface which isimportant to suppress the amount of particulate matters (PM) of theexhaust gas. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce a PM discharge amount(hereinafter, also referred to as a particulate number (PN)).

In view of the aforementioned problems, it is an object of the presentinvention to control the engine by activating the catalyst early andreducing the PN.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to one embodiment of this invention, an engine control devicefor controlling a cylinder direct fuel injection type spark ignitionengine provided with a fuel injection valve configured to directlyinject fuel into a cylinder and an ignition plug configured to performspark ignition for a gas mixture inside the cylinder is provided. In acase where it is necessary to warm up an exhaust gas purifying catalystdisposed in an exhaust passage, the engine control device executes acatalyst warm-up operation in which a fuel is injected at a timingduring the compression stroke, and at a timing when the fuel spraycolliding with the piston crown surface moves toward the ignition plugalong the shape of the piston crown surface, and in which the ignitiontiming is after compression top dead center. The engine control deviceadvances the fuel injection timing in accordance with an increase in anestimation amount of a liquid fuel remaining on the top surface of thepiston during execution of the catalyst warm-up operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an engine according to afirst embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control routine for suppressing anincrease of the PN.

FIG. 3 is a table in which fuel injection timing advancement angles usedin the control of the first embodiment are established.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a fuel injection timing when thecontrol of the first embodiment is executed.

FIG. 5 is a table in which a length of a valve overlap period used inthe control of the first embodiment is established.

FIG. 6 is a table in which a valve timing for implementing the valveoverlap period calculated from the table of FIG. 5 is established.

FIG. 7 is a table in which a length of the valve overlap period used ina control of a second embodiment is established.

FIG. 8 is a table in which a valve timing for implementing the valveoverlap period calculated in the table of FIG. 7 is established.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a fuel injection timing when there isno damper period.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the fuel injectiontiming.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment>

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a combustion chamber of acylinder direct fuel injection type spark ignition engine 1 according tothis embodiment (hereinafter, also referred to as an “engine”) and itsvicinity. Note that, although FIG. 1 illustrates a single cylinder, thisembodiment is also applicable to a multi-cylinder engine.

A cylinder block 1B of the engine 1 is provided with a cylinder 2. Apiston 3 is reciprocatably housed in the cylinder 2. The piston 3 isconnected to a crankshaft (not shown) through a connecting rod 12, sothat it reciprocates by rotating the crankshaft. In addition, the piston3 has a cavity 10 formed on a top surface 3A (hereinafter, also referredto as a piston crown surface 3A) as described below.

A cylinder head 1A of the engine 1 has a hollowed combustion chamber 11.The combustion chamber 11 is a so-called pent roof type, in which pairof intake valves 6 are provided on a slope surface of the intake side,and pair of exhaust valves 7 are provided on a slope surface of theexhaust side, respectively. In addition, an ignition plug 8 is arrangedin a substantial center position of the combustion chamber 11 surroundedby a pair of intake valves 6 and a pair of exhaust valves 7 along anaxial line of the cylinder 2.

In addition, in a position of the cylinder head 1A, which is sandwichedby the pair of intake valves 6 are inserted, the fuel injection valve 9is arranged to face the combustion chamber 11. A directivity of the fuelspray injected from the fuel injection valve 9 will be described below.

The intake valve 6 and the exhaust valve 7 are driven by a valve timingcontrol mechanism (not shown). As the valve timing control mechanism,any mechanism may be employed as long as valve timings of the intakevalve 6 and the exhaust valve 7, that is, a valve open timing and avalve close timing can be changed so as to generate a valve overlapperiod in which both the intake valve 6 and the exhaust valve 7 areopen. Note that the valve open timing refers to a timing for initiatinga valve open operation, and the valve close timing refers to a timingfor terminating a valve close operation. According to this embodiment, avalve timing control mechanism well known in the art for changing therotational phases of a cam shaft driving the intake valve 6 and a camshaft driving the exhaust valve 7 with respect to the crankshaft isused. Note that a valve timing control mechanism well known in the art,capable of changing operation angles as well as the rotational phases ofthe intake valve and the exhaust valve, may also be employed.

An exhaust gas purifying catalyst for purifying the exhaust gas of theengine 1 is disposed on the downstream side of the exhaust gas flow ofthe exhaust passage 5. The exhaust gas purifying catalyst is, forexample, a three-way catalyst.

The piston 3 is provided with the cavity 10 on the piston crown surface3A as described above. The cavity 10 is provided in a position biased tothe intake side of the piston crown surface 3A. In addition, the fuelinjection valve 9 is placed such that a fuel spray is directed to thecavity 10 when fuel is injected in the vicinity of the top dead centerof the piston 3. The fuel spray colliding with the cavity 10 swirlsupward along a wall surface of the cavity 10 and is directed to theignition plug 8.

Note that a fuel injection amount, a fuel injection timing, an ignitiontiming, and the like of the engine 1 are controlled by a controller 100according to an operation state of the engine 1. Note that the fuelinjection timing refers to a timing for initiating fuel injection. Inaddition, in order to execute this control, the engine 1 is providedwith various detectors such as a crankshaft angle sensor, a coolanttemperature sensor, and an air flowmeter for detecting the intake airamount.

Next, a control performed at the start of the engine 1 executed by thecontroller 100 will be described. In this embodiment, it is assumed thata fuel amount necessary for one combustion cycle is injected dividinglyin two times. That is, so-called two-stage injection is performed.

The exhaust gas purifying catalyst does not provide a sufficientpurification performance at a temperature lower than the activationtemperature. For this reason, during a cold start operation in which theexhaust gas purifying catalyst has a temperature lower than theactivation temperature, it is necessary to increase the temperature ofthe exhaust gas purifying catalyst earlier. For this purpose, thecontroller 100 executes super-retard stratified charge combustion inorder to activate the exhaust gas purifying catalyst earlier when theexhaust gas purifying catalyst has an inactive state in an idlingoperation immediately after the cold starting. Note that thesuper-retard stratified charge combustion is well known in the art(refer to JP 2008-25535 A).

In the super-retard stratified charge combustion, the controller 100sets the ignition timing within a first half of an expansion stroke, forexample, to 15 to 30° after the compression top dead center. Inaddition, the controller 100 sets the first fuel injection timing to afirst half of the intake stroke and sets the second fuel injectiontiming within a second half of the compression stroke at the timingcapable of allowing the fuel spray to reach the vicinity of the ignitionplug 8 until the ignition timing. For example, the second fuel injectiontiming is set to 50 to 60° preceding the compression top dead center.

Here, the first fuel injection amount and the second fuel injectionamount will be described.

An air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas discharged in the super-retardstratified charge combustion described above is stoichiometric (astoichiometric air-fuel ratio). Similar to a general method for settingthe fuel injection amount, the controller 100 calculates a fuel amountby which the fuel can be totally combusted with the intake air amountper one combustion cycle (hereinafter, also referred to as a total fuelamount). A part of this total fuel amount, for example, 50 to 90 weight% is used as the first injection amount, and the remaining fuel amountis used as the second injection amount.

If the fuel injection amount is set as described above, the fuel sprayinjected in the first fuel injection is diffused inside the cylinder 2without colliding with the cavity 10 and is mixed with the air to form ahomogeneous gas mixture leaner than the stoichiometric state in theentire area of the combustion chamber 11. In addition, the fuel sprayinjected in the second fuel injection collides with the cavity 10 andswirls upward, so that it reaches the vicinity of the ignition plug 8,and a gas mixture richer than the stoichiometric state is concentratedin the vicinity of the ignition plug 8. As a result, the gas mixtureinside the combustion chamber 11 becomes a stratified state. If sparkignition is generated by the ignition plug 8 in this state, combustionresistant to a disturbance is performed while suppressing generation ofaccidental fire or smoke. Although the aforementioned combustion is thestratified charge combustion, this combustion will be referred to as“super-retard stratified charge combustion” in order to distinguish fromtypical stratified charge combustion in which the ignition timingprecedes the compression top dead center.

In the super-retard stratified charge combustion described above,compared to the homogeneous stoichiometric combustion of the prior art,it is possible to increase the exhaust gas temperature and reduce ahydrocarbon (HC) discharge amount discharged from the combustion chamber11 to the exhaust passage 5. That is, using the super-retard stratifiedcharge combustion, it is possible to implement early activation of theexhaust gas purifying catalyst while suppressing hydrocarbon from beingdischarged to the atmosphere until the activation of the exhaust gaspurifying catalyst from the starting initiation, compared to a casewhere only the homogeneous stoichiometric combustion of the prior art isperformed, a case where only the stratified charge combustion isperformed, or a case where additional fuel is injected in addition tothe homogeneous stoichiometric combustion and the stratified chargecombustion after a second half of the combustion (after the expansivestroke or during the exhaust stroke), to perform a warm-up operation.

Meanwhile, a part of the fuel colliding with the piston crown surface 3Aduring execution of the super-retard stratified charge combustion doesnot swirl toward the ignition plug 8 and is adhered to the piston crownsurface 3A. Even when the fuel is adhered to the piston crown surface3A, the fuel does not remain on the piston crown surface 3A if theadhered fuel is vaporized and combusted in the corresponding combustioncycle. However, since the super-retard stratified charge combustion isexecuted during the cold starting, it is difficult to vaporize theadhered fuel until the temperature of the piston crown surface 3Aincreases. Furthermore, the fuel does not remain on the piston crownsurface 3A if the adhered fuel is combusted as a combustion flamepropagates during the combustion cycle. However, since the combustion isinitiated during the expansion stroke in the super-retard stratifiedcharge combustion, the combustion flame does not reach the piston crownsurface 3A. Even if it reaches the piston crown surface 3A, thetemperature decreases in the second half of the expansion stroke.Therefore, it is difficult to burn out the adhered fuel during thecorresponding cycle. Note that a phenomenon in which the liquid fuelremaining on the piston crown surface 3A is ignited and combusted by thecombustion flame is called “pool fire.”

Therefore, for a predetermined period after the cold starting, theamount of the liquid fuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3Acontinuously increases. Here, the predetermined period refers to aperiod until the amount of the liquid fuel remaining on the piston crownsurface 3A vaporized during one combustion cycle is larger than theamount of the fuel adhered to the piston crown surface 3A for onecombustion cycle.

That is, if the super-retard stratified charge combustion iscontinuously performed over the predetermined period, the amount of theliquid fuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3A is slowly reduced.However, in some cases, the super-retard stratified charge combustion isswitched to the homogeneous stoichiometric combustion while the liquidfuel remains on the piston crown surface 3A before the predeterminedtime elapses. For example, this may happen when the exhaust gaspurifying catalyst is activated, or when the accelerator pedal isdepressed for acceleration. Note that the homogeneous stoichiometriccombustion referred to herein is a combustion mode in which a gasmixture having a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio is formed in the entirecombustion chamber 11, and spark ignition is performed at the optimumignition timing (minimum advance for best torque (MBT)).

If the combustion mode is switched to the homogeneous stoichiometriccombustion while the liquid fuel remains on the piston crown surface 3A,the combustion flame reaches the piston crown surface 3A at a hightemperature to generate pool fire, so that the remaining liquid fuel iscombusted. In this manner, if the liquid fuel accumulated until thiscombustion cycle is combusted, the PN tends to increase.

In this regard, according to this embodiment, in order to suppress anincrease of the PN caused by the combustion of the liquid fuel, thecontroller 100 executes the following control.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control routine for suppressing anincrease of eh PN executed by the controller 100. Note that this routineis repeatedly executed with a short interval, for example, 10milliseconds.

In this routine, the second injection timing of the two-stage injectionis changed according to the liquid fuel amount remaining on the pistoncrown surface 3A in order to suppress the liquid fuel amount remainingon the piston crown surface 3A (hereinafter, simply referred to as a“liquid fuel amount”). The steps of the flowchart will now be described.

In step S101, the controller 100 determines whether or not thesuper-retard stratified charge combustion is under execution. If thesuper-retard stratified charge combustion is under execution, theprocessing of step S102 is executed. Otherwise, if the super-retardstratified charge combustion is not under execution, a processing forswitching to the homogeneous stoichiometric combustion (hereinafter,referred to as a typical control) is performed is step S108. Whether ornot the super-retard stratified charge combustion is under execution isdetermined on the basis of a temperature of the exhaust gas purifyingcatalyst. Specifically, if the temperature of the exhaust gas purifyingcatalyst is lower than the activation temperature, it is determined thatthe super-retard stratified charge combustion is under execution. If thetemperature of the exhaust gas purifying catalyst is equal to or higherthan the activation temperature, it is determined that the super-retardstratified charge combustion is not under execution. Note that, if thereis an acceleration request even when the temperature of the exhaust gaspurifying catalyst is lower than the activation temperature, thecontroller 100 executes the processing of step S108. Whether or notthere is an acceleration request may be determined on the basis of adetection value of an acceleration pedal opening level sensor (notshown). For example, it may be determined that there is an accelerationrequest when the accelerator pedal is depressed or when the openinglevel is higher than a predetermined level. Alternatively, it may bedetermined that there is an acceleration request when the acceleratorpedal is depressed, and a change rate of the acceleration pedal openinglevel is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

In step S102, the controller 100 estimates the liquid fuel amount.According to this embodiment, the liquid fuel amount is estimated on thebasis of a wall temperature of the cylinder 2 (hereinafter, alsoreferred to as a cylinder wall temperature) and a time elapsing from theengine starting. Specifically, first, on the basis of a fact that theliquid fuel more easily remains on the piston crown surface 3A as thecylinder bore wall temperature decreases, a remaining amount per unittime is established for each cylinder bore wall temperature, and thetime elapsing after the engine starting is integrated into this value,so that the accumulated amount of the fuel adhered to the piston crownsurface 3A is calculated. Then, a vaporization amount described below issubtracted from this accumulated amount, and its result is set as aliquid fuel estimation amount.

Note that, although the temperature of the piston crown surface 3Adirectly relates to easiness of the remaining liquid fuel, the cylinderbore wall temperature is employed here because it relates to thetemperature of the piston crown surface 3A, and it can be estimated froma detection value of the existing coolant temperature sensor.

The aforementioned vaporization amount refers to the amount of fuelvaporized out of the fuel adhered to the piston crown surface 3A.Vaporization more easily occurs as the temperature of the fuelincreases. Therefore, the vaporization amount increases as thetemperature of the piston crown surface 3A increases.

In step S103, the controller 100 determines whether or not the liquidfuel amount estimated in step S102 (hereinafter, also referred to as aliquid fuel estimation amount) is smaller than a predetermined thresholdvalue L2. If the liquid fuel estimation amount is smaller than thethreshold value L2, the controller 100 executes the processing of stepS104. Otherwise, if the liquid fuel estimation amount is equal to orlarger than the threshold value L2, the processing of step S108 isexecuted.

The threshold value L2 employed in this step is a value that can satisfythe emission regulation value of the PN even when the combustion isswitched from the super-retard stratified charge combustion to thehomogeneous stoichiometric combustion.

In step S104, the controller 100 calculates an advancement angle of thesecond fuel injection timing of the two-stage injection (hereinafter,also referred to as a fuel injection timing advancement angle ADV)against a basic fuel injection timing as described below. The basic fuelinjection timing is a timing at which the fuel spray collides with thecavity 10 during the compression stroke. A specific value of the basicfuel injection timing is set appropriately according to a specificationof a vehicle to which this embodiment is applied. According to thisembodiment, the basic fuel injection timing is set to 50 to 60°preceding the compression top dead center as described above. Note thatthe unit of the “advancement angle” and the “retardation angle”according to this embodiment is a crank angle.

The fuel injection timing advancement angle ADV is calculated, forexample, by preparing a table of FIG. 3 in advance, storing it in thecontroller 100, and searching this table with a liquid fuel estimationamount.

In FIG. 3, the ordinate refers to the fuel injection timing advancementangle ADV, and the abscissa refers to a liquid fuel estimation amount L.The fuel injection timing advancement angle ADV is set to zero if theliquid fuel estimation amount L is within a range “0≤L<threshold valueL1.” If the liquid fuel estimation amount L is within a range “thresholdvalue L1≤L<threshold value L2,” the fuel injection timing advancementangle ADV is set to “ADV1.” If “L≥threshold value L2,” the fuelinjection timing advancement angle ADV is set to “ADV2.” The fuelinjection timing advancement angle ADV1 is set to a timing at which apart of the fuel spray collides with the cavity 10 during thecompression stroke of the fuel injection timing. The fuel injectiontiming advancement angle ADV2 is set to a timing at which the fuel spraydoes not collide with the cavity 10 during the intake stroke of the fuelinjection timing. The threshold value L1 is a predetermined value. Aspecific value of the threshold value L1 is set according to aspecification of a vehicle to which this embodiment is applied.

Alternatively, a table of the fuel injection timing advancement angleset for each temperature of the piston crown surface 3A may be preparedin advance, and a value of the table may be selected according to thetemperature of the piston crown surface 3A when the fuel injectiontiming advancement angle is calculated in step S104. In this case, thetable is set such that the fuel injection timing advancement angle isset to be larger as the temperature of the piston crown surface 3Adecreases. That is, in the table, the fuel injection timing advancementangle of FIG. 3 is shifted upward as the temperature of the piston crownsurface 3A decreases. Since the colliding fuel more easily remains as aliquid fuel as the temperature of the piston crown surface 3A decreases,it is possible to more reliably suppress an increase of the liquid fuelamount remaining on the piston crown surface 3A by calculating the fuelinjection timing advancement angle ADV1 as described above.

In step S105, the controller 100 sets the fuel injection timing.Specifically, a new fuel injection timing is calculated from the basicfuel injection timing for the super-retard stratified charge combustionand the fuel injection timing advancement angle ADV calculated in stepS104.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary fuel injection timing whenthe processing of steps S104 and S105 is executed. In FIG. 4, theordinate refers to the crank angle, and the abscissa refers to theliquid fuel estimation amount L. If the liquid fuel estimation amount Lis smaller than the threshold value L1, the fuel injection timing isstill the basic injection timing.

If the liquid fuel estimation amount L is equal to or larger than thethreshold value L1 and smaller than the threshold value L2, the fuelinjection timing is advanced from the basic injection timing by the fuelinjection timing advancement angle ADV1. In this case, a part of thefuel spray collides with the cavity 10 as described above. Therefore, astratified mixture is formed in the vicinity of the ignition plug 8although it is smaller relative to the case of the basic fuel injectiontiming. Combustion performed by generating spark ignition in this stateis referred to as “lean stratified charge combustion.”

If the liquid fuel estimation amount L is equal to or larger than thethreshold value L2, intake stroke injection is performed while the fuelinjection timing is advanced from the basic injection timing by the fuelinjection timing advancement angle ADV2. If the intake stroke injectionis performed, the fuel spray is diffused and mixed until the ignitiontiming, so that a homogeneous gas mixture is formed in the entire areaof the cylinder. Therefore, the combustion mode becomes homogeneousstoichiometric combustion.

As described above, the controller 100 advances the fuel injectiontiming as the liquid fuel estimation amount L increases. Morespecifically, if the liquid fuel estimation amount L becomes equal to orlarger than the threshold value L1, the controller 100 advances the fuelinjection timing to switch to the lean stratified charge combustion. Asa result, the fuel amount colliding with the cavity 10 is reduced,compared to the case of the super-retard stratified charge combustion.Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase of the fuel amountremaining on the piston crown surface 3A. If the liquid fuel estimationamount L is equal to or larger than the threshold value L2, thecontroller 100 advances the fuel injection timing until the intakestroke and switches the combustion mode to the homogeneousstoichiometric combustion. As a result, the fuel spray is not adhered tothe cavity 10. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress an increaseof the fuel amount remaining on the piston crown surface.

Note that the controller 100 controls the ignition timing according toan operation state in a separate flow (not shown). In addition, althoughthe controller 100 retards the ignition timing to be later than the MBTin the case of the super-retard stratified charge combustion, thecontroller 100 also advances the ignition timing according to the newfuel injection timing.

The description will return to the flowchart.

In step S106, the controller 100 calculates the valve overlap period onthe basis of the liquid fuel estimation amount L. The valve overlapperiod herein refers to a period during which the intake valve 6 and theexhaust valve 7 are continuously opened as expressed in terms of thecrank angle.

In FIG. 5, the ordinate refers to the valve overlap period, and theabscissa refers to the liquid fuel estimation amount L. In FIG. 5, thevalve overlap period is set to a basic valve overlap period V0 if theliquid fuel estimation amount L has a range “0≤L<L1.” Meanwhile, thevalve overlap period is set to V1 if “L1≤L<L2.” In addition, the valveoverlap period is set to V2 if “L≥L2.” Here, a relationship of“V0<V1<V2” is established.

As the valve overlap period increases, a so-called internal EGR gasamount increases. Therefore, an internal cylinder temperature from theintake stroke to the ignition timing becomes higher. As the internalcylinder temperature becomes higher, the temperature of the piston crownsurface 3A also becomes higher, so that vaporization of the liquid fueladhered to the cavity is promoted. In this regard, in the table of FIG.5, the valve overlap period is set to increase as the liquid fuelestimation amount increases.

Alternatively, a table of the valve overlap period may be prepared foreach temperature of the piston crown surface 3A, and a value of thetable may be selected according to the temperature of the piston crownsurface 3A when the fuel injection timing advancement angle iscalculated in step S106. In this case, the table is created such thatthe valve overlap period is set to be longer as the temperature of thepiston crown surface 3A decreases. That is, the valve overlap period ofFIG. 5 is shifted upward as the temperature of the piston crown surface3A decreases. Since the colliding fuel more easily remains as the liquidfuel as the temperature of the piston crown surface 3A decreases, it ispossible to more reliably suppress an increase of the liquid fuel amountremaining on the piston crown surface 3A by calculating the valveoverlap period as described above.

In step S107, the controller 100 changes the valve overlap period bysetting a conversion angle of the valve timing control mechanism forimplementing the valve overlap period calculated in step S106. Morespecifically, the valve timings of the intake valve 6 and the exhaustvalve 7 are calculated on the basis of the method described below, andthe conversion angles of the intake-side and exhaust-side valve timingcontrol mechanisms are changed on the basis of the calculation result.

FIG. 6 is a table for calculating an open timing of the intake valve 6(IVO in FIG. 6) and a close timing of the exhaust valve 7 (EVC in FIG.6) for implementing the valve overlap period calculated in step S106. InFIG. 6, the ordinate refers to the valve timing, and the abscissa refersto the valve overlap period. In the case of the basic valve overlapperiod V0, the intake valve open timing is set to IVO0, and the exhaustvalve close timing is set to EVC0. In the case of the valve overlapperiod V1, the intake valve open timing is set to IVO1 advanced fromIVO0, and the exhaust valve close timing is set to EVC1 retarded fromEVC0. In the case of the valve overlap period V2, the intake valve opentiming is set to IVO2 advanced from IVO1, and the exhaust valve closetiming is set to EVC2 retarded from EVC1. In this manner, even when thevalve overlap period is set to any length, the intake valve open timingand the exhaust valve close timing are set such that the exhaust topdead center is interposed therebetween.

The advancement angle of the open timing of the intake valve 6 is largerthan the retardation angle of the close timing of the exhaust valve 7.This is because, as the close timing of the exhaust valve 7 is retarded,a blowout amount of the intake air increases, so that cylindervolumetric efficiency is degraded. That is, if the valve overlap periodincreases by predominantly advancing the open timing of the intake valve6 as described in this embodiment, it is possible to suppressdegradation of the cylinder volumetric efficiency.

Note that, in the flowchart of FIG. 2, the processing of steps S106 toS107 may be executed before the processing of steps S104 to S105.

The control routine described above can be summarized as follows. First,the controller 100 estimates the liquid fuel amount remaining on thepiston crown surface 3A during the super-retard stratified chargecombustion. If the liquid fuel estimation amount is equal to or largerthan the threshold value L2, the controller 100 switches the combustionmode from the super-retard stratified charge combustion to the typicalcontrol. If the liquid fuel estimation amount is smaller than thethreshold value L2, the controller 100 advances the fuel injectiontiming and increases the valve overlap period according to an increaseof the liquid fuel estimation amount.

Next, effects of this embodiment will be described.

According to this embodiment, in a case where it is necessary to warm upthe exhaust gas purifying catalyst disposed in the exhaust passage 5,the controller 100 performs a control such that the fuel is injected atthe fuel injection timing at which the fuel spray collides with thepiston crown surface 3A, and the colliding fuel spray is directed towardthe ignition plug 8 according to the shape of the piston crown surface3A, and the catalyst warm-up operation in which spark ignition isperformed after the compression top dead center (super-retard stratifiedcharge combustion) is executed. In addition, during the execution of thesuper-retard stratified charge combustion, the controller 100 advancesthe fuel injection timing as the estimation amount of the liquid fuelremaining on the piston crown surface 3A increases. By advancing thefuel injection timing, the amount of the fuel colliding with the pistoncrown surface 3A is reduced. Therefore, the liquid fuel amount remainingon the piston crown surface 3A is reduced. As a result, it is possibleto reduce the PN.

According to this embodiment, if the estimation amount of the liquidfuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3A exceeds the thresholdvalue set on the basis of the emission regulation value of the exhaustgas particulate matter, the fuel injection timing is advanced to theintake stroke from the timing at which the fuel spray collides with thepiston crown surface 3A and is directed to the ignition plug during thecompression stroke. As a result, a distance from the fuel injectionvalve 9 to the piston crown surface 3A increases at the fuel injectiontiming, so that the fuel spray does not collide with the piston crownsurface 3A. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase of theliquid fuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3A.

Note that, if the fuel injection timing during the compression stroke isin the vicinity of the bottom dead center, the distance between the fuelinjection valve 9 and the piston crown surface 3A is reduced byadvancing the fuel injection timing to the intake stroke. However, ifthe advanced fuel injection timing is the fuel injection timing at whichthe fuel spray does not collide with the piston crown surface 3A, forexample, 100° preceding the bottom dead center, it is possible to obtainan effect that an increase of the liquid fuel remaining on the pistoncrown surface 3A can be suppressed by advancing the fuel injectiontiming.

Even in the fuel injection timing at which the fuel spray is adhered tothe piston crown surface 3A by advancing the fuel injection timing, atime elapsing to the spark ignition after the fuel is adhered to thepiston crown surface 3A, that is, a time for vaporizing the adhered fuelincreases. In particular, the atmospheric temperature inside thecylinder increases by virtue of the compression effect after initiationof the compression stroke, so that vaporization is promoted. Therefore,even at the fuel injection timing in which the fuel spray is adhered tothe piston crown surface 3A by the angle advancement, if the amount ofthe adhered fuel is small, it is possible to suppress an increase of theliquid fuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3A.

As described above, it is difficult to absolutely say that the amount ofthe liquid fuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3A increases byexpediting the fuel injection timing to precede the bottom dead center.A fact that it is possible to suppress an increase of the liquid fuelremaining on the piston crown surface 3A by advancing the fuel injectiontiming from the compression stroke to the intake stroke is based on anyof the aforementioned two mechanisms, that is, a mechanism in which theamount of fuel colliding with the piston crown surface 3A is reduced, ora mechanism in which the vaporization time for the adhered fuelincreases by the collision.

According to this embodiment, as the estimation amount of the liquidfuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3A increases, the fuelinjection timing gradually approaches the intake stroke. That is, as theliquid fuel estimation amount increases, the combustion mode is switchedfrom the super-retard stratified charge combustion to the leanstratified charge combustion. As a result, it is possible to promote thewarm-up operation of the exhaust gas purifying catalyst by virtue of thelean stratified charge combustion while suppressing an increase of theliquid fuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3A.

According to this embodiment, the advancement angle of the fuelinjection timing described above is set to be larger as the temperatureof the piston crown surface 3A decreases. As the temperature of thepiston crown surface 3A decreases, the colliding fuel spray more easilyremains on the piston crown surface 3A. Therefore, according to thisembodiment, it is possible to more reliably reduce the amount of theliquid fuel remaining on the piston crown surface 3A.

According to this embodiment, at least during execution of the warm-upoperation (super-retard stratified charge combustion), a part of thefuel is injected even in the intake stroke. That is, a two-stageinjection is performed such that the fuel is injected in both the intakestroke and the compression stroke. The fuel injected in the intakestroke forms a homogeneous gas mixture leaner than the stoichiometricair-fuel ratio inside the combustion chamber 11. If spark ignitionoccurs in this state, combustion resistant to a disturbance isperformed.

According to this embodiment, during execution of the super-retardstratified charge combustion, the controller 100 increases the valveoverlap period such that the temperature of the piston crown surfaceincreases as the estimation amount of the liquid fuel remaining on thepiston crown surface 3A increases. An internal EGR amount increases asthe valve overlap period increases, so that internal cylindertemperature increases starting from the intake stroke stage. Therefore,it is possible to promote vaporization of the liquid fuel. As a result,it is possible to reduce the PN.

According to this embodiment, the valve overlap period slowly increasesas the estimation amount of the liquid fuel remaining on the pistoncrown surface 3A increases. That is, the control of the valve overlapperiod described above is executed even when the combustion mode isswitched from the super-retard stratified charge combustion to the leanstratified charge combustion as the liquid fuel estimation amountincreases. As a result, it is possible to promote the warm-up operationof the exhaust gas purifying catalyst by virtue of the lean stratifiedcharge combustion while suppressing an increase of the liquid fuelremaining on the piston crown surface 3A.

According to this embodiment, a change value of the valve overlap periodis set to be larger as the temperature of the piston crown surface 3Adecreases. As the temperature of the piston crown surface 3A decreases,the colliding fuel spray easily remains on the piston crown surface 3A.Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to more reliablyreduce the liquid fuel amount remaining on the piston crown surface 3A.

<Second Embodiment>

A second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the methodof calculating the valve overlap period. The description will now bemade by focusing on this difference.

Similarly, in this embodiment, the controller 100 executes the controlroutine of FIG. 2. As described above, the method of calculating thevalve overlap period according to this embodiment is different from thatof the first embodiment. That is, according to this embodiment, theprocessing of steps S106 to S107 of FIG. 2 is different from that of thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a table used to calculate the valve overlap period in stepS106. Unlike FIG. 5 used in the first embodiment, the valve overlapperiod increases in proportion to an increase of the liquid fuelestimation amount. As a result, it is possible to more accuratelyperform the control according to the liquid fuel estimation amount.

Note that, similar to the first embodiment, the table of FIG. 7 may beprepared for each temperature of the piston crown surface 3A, and thevalve overlap period may be set to be longer as the temperature of thepiston crown surface 3A decreases.

FIG. 8 is a table used to set the valve timings of the intake valve 6and the exhaust valve 7 in step S107. The valve timings of the intakevalve 6 and the exhaust valve 7 are proportional to the valve overlapperiod. That is, as the valve overlap period increases, the advancementangle of the open timing of the intake valve 6 and the retardation angleof the close timing of the exhaust valve 7 increase.

Note that the advancement angle of the open timing of the intake valve 6is set to be larger than the retardation angle of the close timing ofthe exhaust valve 7 as the valve overlap period increases. Thisrelationship is similar to that of FIG. 6 used in the first embodiment.

According to this embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, it ispossible to suppress an increase of the liquid fuel. In addition, it ispossible to more appropriately set the valve overlap period according tothe liquid fuel estimation amount.

Note that each embodiment described above is not limited to a case wheresuch stratified charge combustion is performed through the two-stagesplit injection. For example, single-stage injection may be performed byomitting the first fuel injection of the two-stage fuel injectiondescribed above. Therefore, the stratified charge combustion may beperformed through only the second fuel injection.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the controller 100 may switch the combustionmode to the homogeneous stoichiometric combustion when the liquid fuelestimation amount during execution of the super-retard stratified chargecombustion becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined thresholdvalue.

The method “the fuel injection timing gradually approaches the intakestroke as the liquid fuel estimation amount increases” described aboveis not limited to a case where the fuel injection timing is advancedstepwise as illustrated in FIG. 4 or 9. For example, as indicated by thesolid line or the dotted line in FIG. 10, the advancement angle of thefuel injection timing in a case where the liquid fuel estimation amountis smaller than the threshold value L2 may continuously increase as theliquid fuel estimation amount increases.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been describedhereinbefore, the embodiments described above are just for illustrativepurposes and are not intended to limit the technical scope of thepresent invention to a specific configuration of the embodiment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An engine control device for controlling acylinder direct fuel injection type spark ignition engine, the enginecomprising a fuel injection valve configured to directly inject fuelinto a cylinder and an ignition plug configured to perform sparkignition for a gas mixture inside the cylinder, wherein, the enginecontrol device is programmed to execute a catalyst warm-up operation inwhich an ignition timing is retarded and a fuel injection timing iswithin a compression stroke when it is necessary to warm up an exhaustgas purifying catalyst disposed in an exhaust passage, and to advancethe fuel injection timing within the compression stroke according to anestimation amount of a liquid fuel remaining on a piston crown surfaceduring execution of the catalyst warm-up operation.
 2. The enginecontrol device according to claim 1, wherein, the engine control deviceis programmed to advance the fuel injection timing from a timing atwhich the fuel spray moves toward the spark plug to a timing during theintake stroke when the estimation amount of the liquid fuel remaining onthe piston crown surface is larger than a threshold value set on thebasis of an emission regulation value of an exhaust gas particulatematter.
 3. The engine control device according to claim 2, wherein thefuel injection timing gradually approaches the intake stroke inaccordance with the increase of the estimation amount of the liquid fuelremaining on the piston crown surface.
 4. The engine control deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein an advancement angle of the fuel injectiontiming is set to be larger as the temperature of the piston crownsurface is lower.
 5. The engine control device according to claim 1,wherein a part of the fuel is also injected in an intake stroke at leastduring execution of the warm-up operation.
 6. An engine control methodfor controlling a cylinder direct fuel injection type spark ignitionengine, the engine comprising a fuel injection valve configured todirectly inject fuel into a cylinder and an ignition plug configured toperform spark ignition for a gas mixture inside the cylinder,comprising: executing a catalyst warm-up operation in which an ignitiontiming is retarded and a fuel injection timing is within a compressionstroke when it is necessary to warm up an exhaust gas purifying catalystdisposed in an exhaust passage, and advancing the fuel injection timingwithin the compression stroke according to an estimation amount of aliquid fuel remaining on a piston crown surface during execution of thecatalyst warm-up operation.